"The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that carries any reward"

Case Studies

John Maynard Keynes

Here are some of the ways we have worked with clients to answer their tax questions.

Returning To the UK from Dubai

Ms T had been working in the Middle East for many years as a geologist and was considering a career move which would bring her back to the UK. She asked about the timing of her return to the UK and whether there were likely to be any tax problems.

We were able to look at her potential UK tax residence status for the year of her return to the UK, and as she would be tax resident for the whole of that particular year we checked that she was able to meet the criteria to claim split year treatment. As a result, the earnings from her employment in Dubai in the early part of the year remained outside the scope of UK tax.

Selling a UK Rental Property

Mr and Mrs W live in Singapore and have owned a UK rental property, previously their home, for many years. They were considering selling the property and asked about potential capital gains tax.

We drew up the provisional capital gains tax computations, including the exempt proportion of the gain which would be available due to private residence relief. Mr and Mrs W went ahead with the sale of the property and we took care of the online filing which is required with HMRC within 60 days of the sale date.

Leaving the UK to Work in Texas

R is an engineering consultant and was anticipating leaving the UK to take up a post in the oil industry, based in Texas. He asked about how his UK tax would be affected

We advised on his tax residence position for the year in which he was due to leave the UK and also for subsequent years. As he would be treated as non-resident for the year in which he left the UK, no claim for split year treatment was required and all of his US earnings would be outside the scope of UK tax.

Because of the nature of his US work arrangements, his family remaining in the UK did not affect his non-resident status.

Tax Resident in Two Countries

Mrs G has spent significant time in France, but also maintains a home in the UK. Due to the nature of her work she is able to operate as a digital nomad and therefore has no fixed base.

We worked with her advisers in France and were able to confirm that for certain periods she was tax resident both in France and in the UK.

In order to avoid double taxation, we were able to confirm with her French advisers that she would be considered treaty resident in France and therefore the claim for double taxation relief should be included as part of her French tax returns.

Retiring to the UK from South Africa

E asked about his requirement to file UK taxes now that he and his wife have returned from living in South Africa and retired in the UK to be near their grandchildren.

We confirmed that because his South African pension would be taxed at source but at a rate of tax much lower than the UK tax liability, he would need to file an annual self-assessment tax return in the UK in order to pay his UK tax on the pension arising. As his wife had no pension from South Africa, only her UK state pension, she had no requirement to file a self-assessment tax return.

Taking Advantage of Non-Domicile Status

W is a German national and has come to the UK to work in London for two or three years before returning to Switzerland.

Because of his non-domicile status we were able to confirm that his income arising in Switzerland and in Germany would remain outside the scope of UK tax provided that the income was not remitted to the UK.

Also, because of his non-domicile status he was able to take advantage of the Overseas Work Day Relief, so that the proportion of his employment earnings which related to non-UK duties were exempt from UK tax.

Bookkeeping and Accounting Software

C was starting a new Business as an HR consultant and was concerned that she could not get to grips with cloud based accounting software packages.

We were able to advise her that accounting software was not strictly necessary for a small consulting business and helped her to set up a basic spreadsheet to record her income and outgoings and which met the requirements of digital records for her VAT returns.

Purchasing a Property in the UK

E was considering purchasing a holiday home in the UK for his family and was concerned that this might overturn his current non-resident status for UK tax.

We were able to review his ongoing tax residence status and confirm that the ownership of the UK home would not affect his status, provided his UK days were below a certain threshold.

Domicile Status and Foreign Income

A is an academic at Oxbridge and is a Swedish national. She had been offered a post with an American institution but would retain her UK home and employment.

A wondered whether she would be able to avoid disclosing the US income on her self assessment tax return. We reviewed her domicile status and because she had been in the UK for a significant number of years, it transpired that she was "deemed domiciled" and therefore did not have the option to exclude her US earnings from her UK tax return.

We were able to complete and file the self-assessment tax returns on her behalf, making the correct disclosures.

Ms R left the UK in November 2023 to take up employment in Texas, USA working for an associated company of her UK employer.

As she was tax resident for the 2023/24 tax year we claimed split year treatment so that the latter part of the year when she was out of the UK was treated on a non-resident basis and her overseas earnings were outside the scope of UK tax.

Due to a restructuring of the international group, her employment in the USA was due to finish earlier than planned, with a return to the UK in January 2025. Ms R contacted us to see if this would have an effect on her tax position.

We were able to advise that not only would she be tax resident for the 2024/25 tax year, but the early return to the UK would also affect her claim for split year treatment in 2023/24. The net result was that all of the earnings from her overseas employment from November 2023 to January 2025 would become taxable in the UK and she would have a significant tax liability.

As a result, Ms R was able to negotiate with her US employer to delay her return to the UK until after April 5, 2025, thereby remaining non-resident for the 2024/25 tax year and also ensuring that her tax position for 2023/24 was unchanged, saving a significant UK tax cost.

Problem of an early return to the UK